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With the Rio Grande river flowing past on the
east side and the mountain bounding it on the
west, Walt and Betty Lea’s Cottonwood Lane
Orchard, in Lyden, three miles down the canyon from
Velarde, has to be one of the most beautiful places on
earth. I had the great good luck of having Craig
Mapel, New Mexico Department of Agriculture
Development Specialist, take me up for a visit this
spring just as all the fruit trees were coming near full
bloom. I was definitely enchanted and can see why
Betty says, “We just sit here and admire it.”
Walt and Betty bought the place back in ’86 “looking
for a new adventure” as Betty puts it and to have
something to do when they retired. After they both
retired in ‘93 they turned their 4 acres into a little piece
of heaven. Using high density planting techniques they
have about 370 peach trees, about the same
number of apple trees and some thirty mature
cherry trees with some new cherry tree plantings
that won’t be producing for another two
years. “It’s hard work but it’s tremendously satisfying,”
says Betty. “We can grow a quality
product that’s certified organic. When people
get fruit off Cottonwood Lane they know they
are getting a good product.”
While Walt and Betty have never used chemicals
on the land, they got registered organicsome years back (registered organic means the grower
sells less than $5000 of product a year) and went for
full organic certification two years ago as the orchards
came into full maturity. Before they planted their
orchard they spent several years growing cover crops to
prepare the soil. Now beneath the trees there is a gorgeous
clover carpet that both keeps the weeds down
and feeds the soil. They use a variety or organic methods
to keep their crops healthy, and insect free; no
small feat as some other orchards in the valley use conventional
chemicals. And their borderlands are carefully
planted with natural barriers that also provide
wildlife habitat.
“It’s been a tough year for fruit,” says Betty. “We had
to use our under tree sprinklers and the wind machine
13 different times to protect the trees from frost this
spring. Then we had a bad hail storm in early June.”
This month, Co-op shoppers can enjoy a variety of
cherries including Queen Anns (sweet yellows) Vans,
Hedelfenger, Bings and Raniers thanks to their participation
in our Co-op Food–shed project.
The Co-op Food-shed truck will be stopping by
Cottonwood Lane Orchards and bringing their fresh
picked fruit to all Co-op locations. And with a little
luck, good weather and the fine stewardship of the
Lea’s hopefully we’ll have some peaches and apples a
little later in the season. Look for Cottonwood Lane
Orchard cherries at all Co-op locations during July.
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